Nvidia-backed Nscale Accelerates South Korea Expansion, Plans to Build at Least Two AI Data Centers

BlockBeats news, November 12 — Nscale, a UK-based AI cloud service provider and data center developer backed by Nvidia, is accelerating its entry into the South Korean market, planning to build at least two AI data centers (AIDCs) locally, and established a South Korean legal entity "Nscale Services KR" in July this year, specifically responsible for data center investment, development, and operations management.

The currently confirmed project is located in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Originally planned to be jointly built by a consortium with a total scale of 300MW (Phase 1) of AI data centers, it has now been adjusted so that Nscale and another participant will each build one data center separately. The project under Nscale's responsibility is advancing pre-construction approval procedures. In addition, the company is looking for new projects in other regions of South Korea and considering expansion through new data center construction, retrofitting existing facilities, and leasing third-party data centers.

The report noted that Nscale's move may be related to rising regulatory risks for data centers in the United States. After the U.S. midterm elections, Democrats made gains in multiple states, and Goldman Sachs estimates that about 45% of planned new AI data center capacity in the United States may be affected by regulation, prompting computing power companies to accelerate decentralized deployment into Asia and other overseas markets.

Meanwhile, CoreWeave is also advancing data center construction in South Korea. The Ulsan AI data center jointly developed by AWS and SK Group is expected to begin operations next year, and Microsoft recently started construction of its third South Korean data center in Busan.

However, whether South Korea can continue to attract overseas computing power companies still hinges on electricity costs, grid connection conditions, and approval efficiency. The South Korean government is studying regionally differentiated electricity pricing and a dedicated electricity pricing system for AI data centers.